Saints 'Best Day 2 Fit' Would Eventually Replace All-Pro

The Saints are going to have a chance to add exciting talent to the team in two weeks

Nov 12, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A New Orleans Saints helmet during the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints have some serious talent on the defensive side of the ball, but there are some guys on the older side.

You typically need a good mixture of veterans and younger guys to have success. New Orleans does have a solid mix. The Saints' defense currently features guys like Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Reid, Chase Young, Carl Granderson, and Kool-Aid McKinstry among others.

There's reason to believe that the Saints could take a step forward in 2025 after a tough 2024 campaign but the upcoming NFL Draft is going to very important for this. The NFL Draft is two weeks away from kicking off. The Saints will begin their draft with their first pick being the ninth overall one in the first round. The Saints will have plenty of opportunities after that to add talent, though.

Most of the recent chatter has been about the No. 9 pick, but there's more work to be done. Pro Football Focus' Mason Cameron attempted to find the "best Day 2 fits" for each team. For New Orleans, Cameron floated linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr.

"New Orleans Saints," Cameron said. "Prospect to target: LB Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina. Knight will be one of the oldest players (25) drafted this season, but that doesn’t mean a team won’t value his maturity as a player with solid all-around fundamentals. He posted a 74.0-plus PFF grade in all three major defensive facets in 2024. With Demario Davis’ career winding down, Knight should be able to learn plenty from the veteran before stepping in to replace him."

This is a solid idea from Cameron. ESPN has Knight ranked as the third-best linebacker in this draft. He did a little bit of everything in 2024 for South Carolina. He finished the season with two sacks, eight tackles for loss, 82 total tackles, one pass defended, and three forced fumbles in 13 games.

Davis is 36 years old and is a four-time All-Pro including most recently in 2023. Adding a guy into the mix like Knight to learn from Davis sounds like a great idea.

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